Watford Battle Wolves In FA Cup Semi-Final At Wembley
The Premier League is an absolutely phenomenal competition and there’s no way of getting around that, but let’s face it – the FA Cup will always take the precedent on any weekend in which games are being played. Today and tomorrow will see the two semi-finals go down at Wembley Stadium, as all four sides battle it out for a place in next month’s big final. At this moment in time, it looks like Manchester City are going to be the ones who breeze through to Wembley once again, but as we all know, you just can’t rule anything out at this level.
The second semi will see Watford take on Wolverhampton Wanderers, which is a fixture that actually has quite a few intriguing connotations to it. Both sides have been battling it out for seventh place (silently) over the course of the last few months, and it seems like that trend is going to continue between now and the end of the campaign. Both teams are in with a great chance of qualifying for the Europa League, and whilst that may not seem like an exciting prospect to some, European football isn’t exactly something these two clubs are used to.
Watford have been viewed as one of the surprise packages of the season so far, and that’s putting it lightly. They’ve built a squad that isn’t necessarily the strongest on paper, and yet, they always seem to grind out results one way or another. They’ve got a solid infrastructure in place and as we look ahead to the future, their biggest challenge is going to be sustaining this momentum between now and the end of the domestic season. Either way, though, Javi Gracia seems to have done what many Hornets managers before him couldn’t: lock down the job.
The quality within the ranks of Wolverhampton Wanderers is evident, and at this point, they need to be seriously considered at the biggest threat to the top six next season and beyond. Obviously we need to see whether or not they can handle the pressure of being in that position next season, but for now, Wolves fans can just sit back and enjoy everything they’ve been able to accomplish up to this point. It’s been a long time since they’ve been rubbing shoulders with English football’s elite, but it definitely feels like they belong – which is the biggest compliment of all.
Watford’s last six game stretch began in pretty poor fashion, as they were beaten emphatically 5-0 by Liverpool. They were able to bounce back with a nice win against Leicester City, but a 3-1 loss against Manchester City brought them crashing back down to Earth. They wound up edging their way past Crystal Palace in the FA Cup quarter-finals, but again, facing an elite side in the form of Manchester United didn’t bode too well for them. They did manage to keep their push for the Europa League going in the week, though, as they tore through Fulham to confirm their relegation back down into the Championship.
Wolves’ last six game stretch began in typical Wolves fashion: with a 1-0 loss to Huddersfield Town, who were quite easily the worst team in the Premier League this season. They managed to see off the challenge of Cardiff City, but even more impressively, they drew 1-1 with Chelsea. They beat Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup to book their ticket to Wembley, before an incredibly disappointing loss to Burnley soon followed. Still, a lot of fans won’t remember that in years to come, especially when you consider the fact that they went on to beat United again (this time in the league).
Watford vs Wolves isn’t the most frequently played fixture in the history of English football, but that isn’t to say there haven’t been some intriguing meetings between the two over the years. Watford lead the overall head to head standings 14-13 with 18 draws in between, with the first meeting between the two taking place way back in 1912. In their last meeting, back in October, Watford were able to neutralise Nuno’s men with ruthless efficiency – registering a 2-0 win that helped them well on their way towards a push for the Europa League (which is still ongoing).
Andre Gray is expected to be the Hornets’ big weapon off the bench, especially if they’re in a bit of bother late in the game. Roberto Pereyra is a doubt after picking up a knock in the game against Fulham, with Heurelho Gomes being tipped to start in what could be one of his last games for the club. Femenia and Janmaat are set to compete for a place in the starting XI, with Kabasele being expected to replace Mariappa. In terms of the overall squad they’ve certainly got enough fire power to get them over the line in this one, but winning the battle in the middle of the park will be the key.
The only real question here will be whether or not John Ruddy keeps his starting place ahead of Rui Patricio, which is indeed expected to be the case. Wolves have no real injury problems to worry about ahead of their trip to Wembley tomorrow, which could lead to a bit of a selection headache for Nuno. Jonny is set to make his way back into the first team line-up with Ruben Vinagre dropping to the bench as a result, but even with that being the case, Wolves have more than enough quality to get the job done.
Watford vs Wolves Betting Prediction
Wolves, in our opinion, clearly have more quality in their ranks from top to bottom – but let’s not pretend like that always matters in games of this magnitude. Watford are going to try and get right in the face of Nuno’s men from the word go, and we think that’s going to affect them. We can see the Hornets getting an early goal half way through the first half, before adding to their advantage shortly after the break. Yes, we know that they’re the underdogs, but we don’t think it’s going to matter all too much under the bright lights of Wembley.
These teams are well aware of the fact that they’ll be walking into the lion’s den if they get through to the final, but they aren’t going to care one bit. The psychological factor of getting the win here, given where both of them are currently situated in the league, is going to be huge. Wolves are more than capable of pulling off the win here but in terms of grit and determination, we just feel like Watford are going to have more in their locker. Plus, and this can’t be understated, they’re relentless.